Commission to Suzanne Farrin

Macabea is very poor, yet possesses a strange inner freedom. She lives in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where she barely exists, loves hot dogs and spends time with her repulsive boyfriend. On the advice of a colleague, she goes to a fortune teller. When she arrives there, another customer is just running out crying. The fortune teller explains that the woman will soon die in an accident, but that Macabea will meet a rich, European boyfriend. The fortune teller is wrong: as Macabea steps into the street, she is run over by a yellow Mercedes. When she dies, the passers-by do not see that her blood is a beautiful red colour.

The plot of the novel The Hour of the Star by the Ukrainian-Brazilian author Clarice Lispector forms the basis for an opera by the composer Suzanne Farrin, who is composing it for the New York Talea Ensemble, made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. The opera work for six voices and chamber ensemble will be premiered in São Paulo in 2023/24.

The opera’s instrumentation traverses time and geography by incorporating reeds (oboe and bassoon), percussion, harp and string quintet from the Baroque period in addition to the Argentine bandoneón, an accordion-like instrument commonly used in tango. The bandoneón becomes an orchestral instrument that leads the orchestra into new sonic realms without directly referencing its origins. The string quintet represents a second meta-instrument that acts like a musical extension of the characters’ nervous system. Harp and percussion provide faster colours that sweep the characters in and out of unfolding time. The libretto is by Argentine writer Sergio Chejfec.

Further information:
taleaensemble.org

Dates

May 8, 2025
National Sawdust, New York City

2025/26
São Paulo